Environmental Testing & Pollution Analysis
Advanced environmental testing to identify, quantify and understand contaminants in air, soil and water.
Environmental contamination can be complex. Knowing that a pollutant is present is often only the beginning. Understanding what it is, where it came from, how much is present and what it means requires detailed chemical analysis.
Emissions Analytics provides advanced environmental testing and analytical services for air, soil and water samples, helping organisations investigate pollution, identify contaminants and build a clearer picture of environmental exposure.
Using two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOF-MS), we can detect, identify and quantify a broad range of organic compounds, including contaminants that may be difficult to investigate using conventional analytical techniques.
Environmental testing across air, soil and water
Environmental pollution does not exist in isolation. Contaminants can move between air, land and water, making it important to understand the chemical composition of environmental samples and, where possible, identify potential sources.
Our environmental testing capabilities cover:
| Testing area | What we analyse | Applications |
|---|---|---|
|
Air pollution testing |
Identify and characterise contaminants
in ambient air, indoor air and industrial
emissions.
Our analytical approach can investigate volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other organic contaminants in air and gas samples. |
|
|
Soil contamination testing |
Analyse soil samples to discover,
identify and quantify chemical
contaminants and investigate potential
sources of pollution.
Our analysis can support investigations into soil contamination, tyre and brake wear pollutants, environmental monitoring and soil health, providing detailed chemical information that can be used alongside wider environmental assessments. |
|
|
Water pollution testing |
Identify and quantify organic
contaminants in water when the source
or composition of contamination is not
yet fully understood.
Our GC×GC-TOF-MS water analysis can be applied to a range of environmental and water samples, including groundwater, surface water and wastewater. |
|
What can environmental testing tell you?
Environmental testing can answer different questions depending on your investigation.
What is in the sample? Identify known and unknown chemical compounds and characterise complex mixtures.
How much is present? Quantify contaminants and determine their concentration within a sample.
Where might it have come from? Use a sample's chemical profile to investigate potential pollution sources.
Is the contamination changing? Repeat analyses can monitor changes in contamination over time.
What does the chemical profile tell us? Our scientists can help interpret analytical results and translate complex chemical data into meaningful environmental insight.
Our analytical approach
Traditional analytical testing can work extremely well when you already know what you are looking for.
But environmental contamination is not always that straightforward.
A sample may contain a complex mixture of compounds, including substances that were not anticipated when the testing programme was designed.
This is where GCxGC-TOF-MS can provide an important advantage.
Two-dimensional gas chromatography
GC×GC provides greater separation of complex mixtures than conventional one-dimensional gas chromatography, helping to resolve compounds that may otherwise be difficult to distinguish.
Time-of-flight mass spectrometry
TOF-MS provides high sensitivity and selectivity, supporting the detection and identification of trace-level compounds.
Comprehensive chemical analysis
Combining the two techniques allows a broad range of compounds to be investigated within a single analytical workflow.
Discover the unexpected
Our approach is particularly valuable when you do not know exactly what you are looking for.
Rather than testing only for a predetermined list of compounds, advanced chemical analysis can help uncover unexpected components within a complex environmental sample.
From environmental sample to scientific insight
Our approach is designed to move beyond simply producing a list of detected compounds.
Understand
What are you trying to discover, measure or prove?
Design
We develop an analytical approach around your objective, sample and requirements.
Measure
Samples are analysed using the most appropriate analytical techniques and instrumentation.
Discover
Our team examines the resulting data to identify, quantify and characterise compounds.
Interpret
We translate analytical results into meaningful scientific insight.
Act
You get the evidence you need to investigate contamination, understand potential sources and make informed decisions.
Environmental contamination can be difficult to trace
Pollution investigations often start with a question rather than an answer.
A change in water quality. An unexpected chemical signature in soil. An unexplained air quality issue. A suspected contribution from traffic, industrial activity, agriculture, tyre wear or another source.
The challenge is determining what is actually present and what the chemical evidence can tell you about its origin.
Our environmental testing services are designed to support these investigations by providing detailed analytical data and scientific interpretation.
Applications of environmental testing
Our environmental analytical capabilities can support a range of investigations, including:
Contaminated land: Investigating chemical contamination in soil and assessing potential sources.
Air quality: Characterising organic compounds in ambient and indoor air.
Water quality: Investigating organic contaminants in groundwater, surface water and wastewater.
Industrial pollution: Characterising emissions and environmental contamination associated with industrial activity.
Tyre and brake wear: Investigating chemical compounds associated with non-exhaust vehicle emissions and their presence in environmental matrices.
Pollution source identification: Using chemical signatures to help investigate potential sources of environmental contamination.
Environmental monitoring: Supporting repeated analysis and monitoring programmes where changes in contamination need to be understood over time.
Research and development: Generating detailed chemical data for scientific, engineering and environmental research.
Why Emissions Analytics?
Advanced analytical capability
We use GCxGC-TOF-MS to investigate complex environmental samples and identify a broad range of chemical compounds.
Independent analysis
Our independent laboratory approach provides analytical evidence that can be used to support environmental investigations and decision-making.
Scientific expertise
We combine advanced instrumentation with scientific interpretation, helping turn complex analytical datasets into useful insight.
Flexible investigation
Environmental contamination does not always fit neatly into a predefined testing list. Our approach can be adapted around the question you are trying to answer.
FAQ Questions
-
Environmental testing involves analysing samples from the environment, such as air, soil and water, to identify and quantify chemical contaminants. It can be used to investigate pollution, monitor environmental conditions, identify potential contamination sources and support regulatory or research requirements.
-
Emissions Analytics provides analytical services for air, soil and water samples, with applications including ambient air, indoor air, industrial emissions, soil contamination, groundwater, surface water and wastewater.
-
The compounds that can be investigated depend on the sample and analytical approach. Our GCxGC-TOF-MS capability can investigate a broad range of organic compounds, including VOCs, SVOCs and persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
-
GCxGC-TOF-MS combines two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The two-dimensional chromatography provides enhanced separation of complex mixtures, while TOF-MS supports sensitive detection and compound identification.
-
Potentially, yes. One of the advantages of GCxGC-TOF-MS is its ability to investigate complex samples where you may not know exactly which compounds are present. Our scientists can examine the resulting data to identify and characterise compounds.
-
Chemical analysis can provide evidence that helps investigate potential pollution sources. Source identification is dependent on the sample, contaminants detected and available contextual information, so interpretation is an important part of the investigation. Emissions Analytics already describes source identification as part of its air and soil pollution services.
-
Our analytical capabilities can support environmental monitoring and regulatory investigations. Specific regulatory requirements depend on the application, jurisdiction and relevant monitoring standard, so projects should be discussed with our technical team.
Upcoming conferences
Looking for answers in your environmental samples?
Whether you are investigating air pollution, soil contamination, water pollution or an unknown environmental contaminant, our analytical team can help you determine what is present and what the chemical evidence may reveal.
Talk to our environmental testing team about your project.